Archie Comics "Mobius: 25 Years Later" Archie Reprints to Be Published as "The Lara-Su Chronicles: Beginnings"

[Lorekitten]

8 minutes ago, Rabid-Coot said:

So its futher along than ever but still getting delays.

Print run of 2000 with special thanks for the first 200 orders still being advertised as available suggests the interest is low.

1800+ books to store sounds like a fun time.

It's kind of sad that this is what he considers to be his life's work. I can only hope he learns a valuable lesson from whatever happens next.

[SomeOtherStranger]

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

He’s already shared previews that show the exact same art, characters, and even name.

To put it bluntly, for now, and any further things you can’t believe, it is best to assume yes, he is that foolish.

Sheesh, at that point he's just asking for a lawsuit.

[Lorekitten]

27 minutes ago, SomeOtherStranger said:

Sheesh, at that point he's just asking for a lawsuit.

All of us know this, and I find it difficult to believe that he has not yet realized this unfortunate fact of life.

[MrModerate]

I'm honestly curious about how bad this will actually get.  At this point it's simply a matter of scope for the inevitable.  I'd feel sorry for him but he's bringing this upon himself.

[Lorekitten]

39 minutes ago, MrModerate said:

I'm honestly curious about how bad this will actually get.  At this point it's simply a matter of scope for the inevitable.  I'd feel sorry for him but he's bringing this upon himself.

I do feel sorry for him, but I also acknowledge that he's bringing this upon himself. It's like I'm watching the guy walk into the middle of a busy freeway and dare the cars to run over him. Yes, whatever happens is the result of his own actions, but I still feel terrible about it.

[Promethean0416]

Well, he's apparently hit 120 preorders on the thing now:

https://kenpenders.com/odds-n-ends-2/

Wonder how much he had to pay at that printing company to make 2000 of them?

[TAILSGONETOOFAST]

AND NOW THE MOMENT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR... *trumpet sounds* HES GONE

[Adamis]

[SSJ22Terris]

I haven't kept up with Penders hardly at all. But this just reeks of regret over his decision to leave the comic. Like don't get me wrong, from every story I feel like I've heard, SEGA seems to be really difficult for creators to work with. But his open hostility towards them pretty much ensured he would never be able to work off of these ideas and settings again. As a creator, if he was really that attached, he should've just stuck with it. As it looks now, I imagine he might just get beat down by lawsuits, and get stuck in this matter even further. I wish he'd have just found a way to move on.

[Zrise The SuperSonic gamer]

On 1/28/2024 at 9:41 PM, Lorekitten said:

It's official, people. Count down the days until this guy gets the pants sued off him.

"Gotta get arrested!"

[Promethean0416]

Welp, looks like at least one of his stories will have redone artwork from 25YL:

https://kenpenders.com/burning-the-midnight-oil/

More art from the Uncanny Valley, and I think this is what, the third panel he's shown now that has redone art from that story?

[Trevor Culleton]

On 1/30/2024 at 7:33 AM, Promethean0416 said:

Considering that 80-90% of the work is already done for him, this is an attempt at a cash grab, though as already stated, this is definitely suspicious and judging from his previous statements on "willing to pay the necessary fees to SEGA" and the fact that any relationship he had with the company has been broken since the Chronicles lawsuit, I don't see how he could have gotten permission to do this, but to reiterate a saying from before: let the chips fall where they may.

Anyway, I posted these on the KP topic before, but here is a comparison of two panels from the original 25YL and 'Beginnings":

Original:

Beginnings:

Nice mouth, Sonic.

If Sonic has no appearance other than this, then I’m so having no part in this. I can’t believe some centered bloke just affected the original series the way he did, just because he’d wanted to do his own comic.

[Lorekitten]

5 hours ago, Trevor Culleton said:

If Sonic has no appearance other than this, then I’m so having no part in this. I can’t believe some centered bloke just affected the original series the way he did, just because he’d wanted to do his own comic.

Agreed. Even if I'd ever had any interest in Penders' writing (which I don't), I'd refuse to patronize him out of the principle of the thing. I want Antoine back, darn it!

[Trevor Culleton]

8 hours ago, Lorekitten said:

Agreed. Even if I'd ever had any interest in Penders' writing (which I don't), I'd refuse to patronize him out of the principle of the thing. I want Antoine back, darn it!

Well, if it helps, there’s like a fan made continuation that largely focus on the original continuity before worlds collide. I’m not fully certain or not on rather it’s canon to the official series, but I find it most of the time to be better writing done than from both Ken Penders and Ian Flynn combined. I already have some favorite issues from there, especially the first two ones that follow issue 247.

[Lorekitten]

1 hour ago, Trevor Culleton said:

Well, if it helps, there’s like a fan made continuation that largely focus on the original continuity before worlds collide. I’m not fully certain or not on rather it’s canon to the official series, but I find it most of the time to be better writing done than from both Ken Penders and Ian Flynn combined. I already have some favorite issues from there, especially the first two ones that follow issue 247.

If you mean Archie Sonic Online, I know about that, and I really enjoy it. I especially liked the Endangered Species rewrite, and the conclusion to the Naugus arc.

[Promethean0416]

For those still wondering, an attempt at clarifying a big question regarding certain contributors on TLSC: Beginnings:

https://kenpenders.com/my-response-to-a-very-legitimate-question/

Quote

I’ve been asked how come Steven Butler’s and Jim Amash’s name are not on the front cover of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS, as they significantly contributed to the MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER chapters that make up a large part of the book. The most I can say is this was done at their request, which I am honoring. Their contributions are acknowledged prominently on the interior credits of the book.

There is a pic showing the TOC with their names on them,  but reading through this, seems only one more remains that I can think of: Did Sega and Archie(?) give their permission for this to be done as well regarding certain characters in those stories? Inquiring minds want to know...

[Knight Terror]

On 1/29/2024 at 2:33 PM, Promethean0416 said:

Anyway, I posted these on the KP topic before, but here is a comparison of two panels from the original 25YL and 'Beginnings":

Original:

Beginnings:

Nice mouth, Sonic.

The heck!?

[AlexHidanBR]

To be honest with you all, I believe Ken Penders has some "god complex" with this attitude, as if he owns the Sonic franchise as a whole and nobody can touch him or do him any harm, he's on top of the world or something. Big, inflated ego, is what i picture Ken Penders to be. Pretty much murdering the Sonic Archie Comics series wasn't enough, it seems...

[Promethean0416]

Posted this on the KP topic already, but he got the proof pages in plus previews:

https://kenpenders.com/and-now-the-proof-pages/

To summarize, he finally surpassed 200 pre-orders for this product, there's no acknowledgement of Sega's ownership of certain characters in use (especially with one of the chapters on the TOC that is unchanged), the TOC is a bit hard to read due to the lighter colors and lens flare, and more stuff on his legal battle and his take on storytelling.

[Vlad the Vampire]

I really don't care about Ken Penders but the only good thing for me would be that for reprinting the comic, he would let SEGA make SONIC CHRONICLES 2 with the Noturnus Clan in exchange for them to be part of the canon again!!...